The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Saudi Arabia

  • UAE accuses Qatari fighter jets of intercepting civilian flight

    UAE accuses Qatari fighter jets of intercepting civilian flight

    The United Arab Emirates ( UAE ) on Monday accused Qatari fighter jets of intercepting an Emirati civilian aircraft during a routine flight to Bahrain, state news agency WAM reported.

    The UAE condemned the alleged incident and said it would take all necessary legal measures to ensure the security of civilian air traffic.

    On July 27, 2017, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates broke off relations with Qatar in the worst diplomatic crisis to hit Gulf Arab states in decades.

    The three Gulf countries and Egypt accused Qatar of supporting terrorism and destabilizing the region.

    Qatar, which shares its only land border with Saudi Arabia, has rejected the accusations, calling them “unjustified” and “baseless.” Yemen and the Maldives also cut ties with Qatar.

    Qatari citizens were given 14 days to leave Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE, and those countries also banned their own citizens from entering Qatar.

    Gulf allies have repeatedly criticized Qatar for alleged support of the Muslim Brotherhood, a nearly 100-year-old Islamist group considered a terrorist organization by Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

    The UAE accused Qatar of “funding and hosting” the group in its statement announcing the severance of ties.

    It also cited Qatar’s “ongoing policies that rattle the security and sovereignty of the region as well as its manipulation and evasion of its commitments and treaties” as the reason for its actions.

    Saudi Arabia accused Qatar in its statement of “adopting” groups, including the Muslim Brotherhood.
    Qatar denies that it funds or supports extremist groups.

    Reuters/NAN

  • 10, 000 female drivers to be recruited in Saudi Arabia

    10, 000 female drivers to be recruited in Saudi Arabia

    Uber and Careem, a Dubai-based ride-hailing app, is planning to hire no fewer  than 10, 000 female drivers in Saudi Arabia by June 2018.

    CNN reported that the companies have already launched training sessions targeting Saudi women who have already obtained driver’s licenses from abroad.

    Female customers currently represent the majority of Uber’s rider base and its local counterpart, Careem, the report said.

    In September 2017, Saudi Arabia announced in a royal decree that it would allow women to drive, ending a long-time policy in the Middle Eastern country.

    Also Read: Saudi Arabia council studying proposals on whistleblowers

    Currently, all drivers employed by the two ride-hailing firms are male, and many working Saudi women spend much of their salaries on drivers or must be driven to work by their male relatives.

    (Xinhua/NAN)

  • House fire kills five migrants in Mecca

    House fire kills five migrants in Mecca

    A fire Wednesday erupted in a house inhabited by migrant workers in Saudi Arabia ’s western city of Mecca, killing five people, a civil defence official said.

    Five others were injured in the house in Mecca’s district of Mecca a spokesman for Mecca’s Civil Defence, Nayef al-Sherif, added in a media statement.

    The fire first hit abandoned furniture and wood in the courtyard of the house and extended to a room where a family from Africa was living, al-Sherif said.

    The blaze was later extinguished. Its cause was not immediately established.

    Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, has a large community of foreign workers.

    NAN reports that the International Labour Organisation estimated that there are about nine million migrant workers as of April 2013.

    Read Also: Five Nigerian pilgrims die in Mecca

    (dpa/NAN)

  • Women in Saudi Arabia to attend football matches for first time

    Women in Saudi Arabia to attend football matches for first time

    Women in Saudi Arabia would be allowed this month to attend football matches for the first time in the conservative kingdom, authorities said on Monday.

    Female fans would enter major sports stadiums in the Kingdom to attend three football matches involving local sides as part of the Saudi Professional League competition, the government-run Centre for International Communication said in a statement.

    The three fixtures are scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Jan. 18, the statement added without further details.

    In October, the Saudi General Sports Authority, a state agency, said that as of early 2018 three stadiums, up to now male-only facilities, would be prepared to be ready for families, including allocation of special places for seating and entrances.

    Read Also: Saudi-based FlyNas Airline begins operation in Kano

    They are King Fahd International Stadium in the capital Riyadh, King Abdullah Sports City in the western city of Jeddah, and Prince Mohammed bin Fahd Stadium in Dammam in eastern Saudi Arabia.

    In September, Saudi King Salman Abdelaziz issued a royal order allowing women to drive, breaking a longstanding tradition as social reforms in the conservative kingdom gather pace.

    Powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is believed to have championed lifting the ban as he is seeking to open up the country and revamp its international image.

    Mohammed, 32, has vowed that the kingdom would return to “moderate Islam’’ as he works on reducing the influence of the hard-line religious establishment in the country.

    NAN

  • ‘Nigeria’s bilateral relations with Saudi Arabia of economic importance’

    Ambassador Umar Salisu has been Nigeria’s ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for almost two years. In this Interview with Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf he speaks on the existing bilateral relations between Nigeria and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and concerted efforts being made to further foster the socioeconomic relationship in both countries. Excerpts:

    What is the nature of your assignment as the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia?

    I’m in charge of Consular Services, especially pilgrims’ affairs in the City of Medina and then some of us are also in Jedda, where we have two entry points. I have been in office for the past one and half years now.

    What has your experience been interfacing with Nigeria and the Saudi Arabia government in terms of international relations?

    In fact, my experience has been very good with the Saudi Arabian government and this was made possible by the coming of our president last year in February. He has smoothened all the diplomatic issues which we were formally facing with the Saudi Arabian government. Presently, the Saudi Arabian government and the Nigerian government, the relationship is very cordial, very warm and then we have also approached them for investments in Nigeria, which they were obliged to come and we shall continue to pursue that after the hajj exercise because from the period of hajj to probably 15 days after hajj, there will not be much to do in Saudi Arabia because most of the offices are closed. God’s willing we will try to do our best to see that a lot of Saudi Arabian businesses come to Nigeria to invest. The fact is, we have really made the Saudi Arabian government to understand that if they are really coming to Africa, Nigeria is their destination because we one we have the manpower, we have the resources, we have the population and the market so this we have tried to convince our host government and host business communities to come to Nigeria to invest.

    In fact, presently, we’re covering about three other countries along with Saudi Arabia. One of is Sultanate of Oman. Some state governments have already forwarded investments requests to us which we have since forwarded to Oman and they have accepted, especially the business community there and they are willing to come to the states to invest in agriculture. These states are Ebonyi, Niger and Kebbi for now. So we hope that other states will also follow suit and then we will be able to have a lot of Omani and Saudi Arabian investments in those sectors.

    What’s the volume of the foreign direct investments from some of these countries you’ve mentioned?

    Well, the thing is that we’re still trying to see what we can do in order to facilitate these investment opportunities which they have and which we also have. Presently, we know that one of their (Saudi Arabia) billionaires here, Prince Alwaheed has invested a lot in UBA and then in the gas and oil sector. He has also requested that the Lagos State government should give him a plot of land where he can construct a hospitality industry. So we hope that within a very short time that we may be here,  probably we will be able to actualise those investments.

    Beyond what you have mentioned, can you give us the quantum of investments by individuals, especially business community in Saudi Arabia to Nigeria in terms of volume?

    No l don’t have presently the volume of trade between us and these countries. But definitely we’re trying to convince them because this is the first time we have made that type of move. Unfortunately, in the past, all our level of relations was based strictly on religious issues.

    But we’re just trying to expand it now. And with the coming of our officials to Saudi Arabia, especially members of the National Assembly that came last year and some of our ministers that also came we were able to now put more pressure on the Saudi business communities so that they will come to Nigeria and invest and this we are beginning to have fruitful results from the discussions we have had with them and by God’s grace and God willing that of Oman too is equally promising because they have proposed a meeting with some of the state governments. So we’ll try to understand the volume after we must have met with them and then we must have been informed of whom and who are going there (Nigeria) to invest, the nature of investment and all that. Though I know Omani business community wants to invest in agriculture. For the Saudi authorities some of them have given us concrete assurances. For instance, there’s a private property investment company that we met with. It’s a billion dollars investment company and they said they want Nigeria to benefit from it and they would want to come to Nigeria to invest in solid mineral resources. So when the Ebonyi state governor came we were able to arrange a meeting between the management of Saudi Property Company and the meeting l think was very successful and we hope that in a very short period and short time to come, they will be able to come to Nigeria and invest in solid minerals.

    There is no doubt that this propositions you’ve made in terms of investment is going to be fruitful. But is there any possibility of job creation at the end of the day?

    Definitely. In fact, there will be a lot of other things which l may not want to discuss now and I don’t want it made public yet, especially in terms of the budget support which they are going to give us. The Saudi property company has promised that if we give them a space of solid minerals to explore there’s a package for Nigeria that will support her budgetary allocation every year. And secondly, just as you’ve mentioned, we would have a lot of job opportunities and a lot of our teeming population, especially our unemployed youths will be employed there.  It’ll be a very golden opportunity for them to also secure job opportunities in these companies and then we know also that the outputs from the agriculture produce and the mining sector that they are going to utilise a lot of it in Nigeria. So it’s going to benefit Nigeria and Oman.  You know the problem in this part of the world is that they are desert countries so producing food crops for them is very difficult.  In fact, from my investigation, they have to go to as far as Argentina in order to produce some of their crops. So l felt that Nigeria is a closer country to the Middle East so they should take that opportunity to plan investment in Nigeria and I think we have gotten that consent from the business communities and hopefully we will be going to these places with some of the state governments that have signified interest for investment in agriculture from Oman. God’s willing we’ll be able to finalise everything in due course.

    Could you give us an overview of the Nigerian population in Saudi Arabia and these other countries?

    Well, we initially had a statistics of 1.7 million Nigerians who are in Saudi Arabia and we’re not surprised about this because Nigeria embraced Islam in the 9th century, especially in the northern part of the country and then a lot of our people came to perform their hajj.  And they trekked to Saudi Arabia to perform their hajj rites and a lot of them stayed behind and some of them went back.  It’s just like Sudan. Currently, we’ve more than 14 million Nigerians resident in Sudan and they are now Sudanese citizens.  In fact, Elturabi’s mother Ruth was traced to be from Nigeria.  Elturabi was a politician in Sudan, he died recently. So we’ve a lot of Nigerians that are here and we’re not surprised because this is the seat of Islamic environment and Nigerians have been trekking to this place for hajj and a lot of them have remained. Some of them have become Saudis and others have dual citizenship of Nigeria and Saudi Arabia respectively.

    What has been your experience living in Saudi Arabia in the last one and half years?

    When I came on board as the ambassador, fortunately, the president also came in then. You know when we have high level visits of our president to another country it gives us more prestige and assist us to further project and sell our image abroad.  So when the president came two things happened: We were able to have our image being brought back to what it should have been as a nation because our relationship with Saudi Arabia has been on for centuries though we were not a country then but empires.  But our interactions with the Saudis could be traced back to the 9th century so we have along the line lost some of our prestige with the Saudi Arabia government because of one or two issues that probably happened but when the president came, he was able to revive this relationship to the highest level and then we are able now to communicate and improve our relationship with Saudi Arabia. Since the time I came, it’s been very easy.  Once we request anything from the Saudi authorities, they gladly grant such.  In fact, there are many a times when I request to see the Minister for Foreign Affairs and will within some minutes of my call, he would grant me audience to come and see him and then we discuss at length about what we should do to improve the relationship between the two countries.

  • Saudi Arabia lifts ban on cinemas

    Saudi Arabia lifts ban on cinemas

    Saudi Arabia said on Monday that public cinemas would be allowed in the conservative kingdom and the first cinemas were likely to open by March 2018.

    “As the industry regulator, the General Commission for Audiovisual Media has started the process for licensing cinemas in the Kingdom,” Minister of Culture and Information Awwad Alawwad said in a statement.

    “We expect the first cinemas to open in March 2018.”

    NAN reports that public cinemas in the country have been illegal since the 1980s, but a plan to reintroduce them has been mooted by the head of the General Authority for Entertainment, Amr al-Madani, as part of the government’s Vision 2030 slate of cultural and economic reforms.

    The grand mufti Abdulaziz al-Sheikh added: “I hope those in charge of the entertainment authority are guided to turn it from bad to good and not to open doors to evil.”

    Vision 2030 was launched in 2016 by then deputy crown prince, Mohammad Salman.

    Chief proposals include a reduction in unemployment from 11.6 per cent to seven per cent and upping the private sector’s contribution to the economy from 40 per cent to 65 per cent.

    The grand mufti attracted criticism in the west in 2012 when he issued a fatwa approving the marriage of girls as young as 10, saying “good upbringing makes a girl ready to perform all marital duties at that age”

  • U.S. tasks Saudi on regional policy

    U.S. tasks Saudi on regional policy

    Saudi Arabia should be “more measured and a bit more thoughtful’’ in its handling of conflicts in the Middle East, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Friday in an unusually blunt criticism of the historic U.S. ally.

    Tillerson criticised Riyadh’s handling of conflicts in Yemen and relations with Lebanon and Qatar, and repeated U.S. President Donald Trump’s call for Riyadh to end its blockade of Yemen.

    “I think in respect to Saudi Arabia’s engagement with Qatar, how they’re handling the Yemen war that they’re engaged in, the Lebanon situation.

    “We would encourage them to be a bit more measured and a bit more thoughtful in those action, to, I think, fully consider the consequences,’’ Tillerson said.

    Saudi Arabia has taken an increasingly active stance in the region, trying to face down allies of rival power Iran, since Crown Prince Mohammed Salman became the power behind the throne.

    It is leading a military coalition in Yemen against Houthi rebels and has cut relations and trade links with neighbouring Qatar, which supports Islamist movements such as the Muslim Brotherhood that Riyadh views with suspicion.

    But Tillerson, speaking in Paris after a meeting with his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian, had warmer words for the King’s programme of domestic reforms.

    “The U.S. strongly supports the reforms that are being undertaken in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

    “We think they’re important for the future of Saudi Arabia, in terms of not just its stability but also its prosperity for the future,’’ he said.

    NAN

  • Emulate exemplary lifestyle of Prophet Muhammad – Imam tells Nigerians

    Emulate exemplary lifestyle of Prophet Muhammad – Imam tells Nigerians

    The Chief Imam of Islamic Centre, Enugu, Alhaji Abdul Isola, on Thursday, urged Nigerians to use the Eid-El-Maulud period to emulate the exemplary lifestyle of Prophet Muhammad  in the interest of peace.

    Muslims over the world , observe the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday on the 12th day of the Islamic month of Rabi’ Al-Awwal.

    Muhammad was born in Mecca, a city in Saudi Arabia in the year 570 of the Gregorian calendar.

    Muslims celebrate Eid-El-Maulud by donating food and other goods for charity throughout the month and listen or read out poems about events that occurred in the Prophet Muhammad’s life.

    The cleric urged Nigerians to follow the servant-leadership exemplified by the prophet during his life time.

    He noted that the prophet’s lifestyle made Islam a religion of peace and good neighbourliness it is today throughout the world.

    “Nigerians should learn to live in peace and shun all forms of in-fighting and unnecessary trouble-making in any form.

    “We must shun all forms of evil we engage in today that give the country a negative image.

    “Nigerians will do better if each one of us emulate the exemplary lifestyle of Prophet Muhammad ( PBUH ) by being good citizens, living in peace with one another, especially our neighbours,’’ he said.

    The cleric, who is also the Chief Scholar of the centre, called on Nigerians to fear God and move closer to Him.

    “It is only when we seek the face of almighty Allah ( God ) that His mercies will shower on the country to give us the needed peace to make rapid progress,’’ he said.

    The Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Interior, had declared Friday, Dec. 1, as a public holiday to commemorate Eid-El-Maulud.

    NAN

  • Saudi Arabia council studying proposals on whistleblowers

    Saudi Arabia council studying proposals on whistleblowers

    Saudi Arabia ’s Shura Council, a top advisory council to the government, is studying proposals for protection of people, who report financial crime, local media reported on Tuesday, following the government’s anti-corruption crackdown.

    Crown Prince Mohammed Salman has launched an inquiry into graft that has resulted in the detention of a dozens of princes, senior officials and businessmen.

    The Shura Council does not have legislative powers, but it can propose laws to the king and the cabinet.

    It said in a tweet on Monday that it had agreed on the “appropriateness of the draft proposal” for whistleblower protection for financial and administrative corruption.

    The Arabic-language newspaper Al-Riyadh reported on Tuesday that the council had agreed to study two proposals on the matter that also included protection of eyewitnesses, who report violations such as financial crime.

    Read also: Saudi Arabia expects Hajj revenues to exceed $4.2bn

    A top official said earlier this month that Saudi authorities have questioned 208 people in an anti-corruption investigation and estimate at least 100 billion dollars has been stolen through graft.

    “The Government of Saudi Arabia, under the leadership of King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed Salman, is working within a clear legal and institutional framework to maintain transparency and integrity in the market,” Attorney-General Saud Al-Mojeb said in a statement on Nov. 9.

    The investigation has spread to the neighbouring United Arab Emirates, as the central bank asked commercial banks and finance companies there to provide details of the accounts of 19 Saudis detained in the crackdown.

    The UAE central bank governor said on Thursday the request by the central bank for local banks and finance companies to provide details of the accounts of 19 Saudi Arabian citizens was just an information-gathering exercise.

    NAN

  • Magu in Austria, says EFCC recovered N738.9bn in two years

    Magu in Austria, says EFCC recovered N738.9bn in two years

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission ( EFCC ) on Wednesday in Austria said it recovered loots totaling N738.9 billion or $2.9 billion between May, 2015 and Oct. 20, 2017.

    Its Acting Chairman, Mr Ibrahim Magu, stated this at the ongoing 7th Session of the Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption holding in Vienna.

    Spokesman of the commission, Mr Wilson Uwujaren, gave account of Magu’s engagement in a statement in Abuja on Wednesday.

    In a presentation titled: “International Cooperation in Relation to Tecnical Assistance: The Nigerian Experience”, Magu said the sum was exclusive of smaller currencies in Durham, CRA and British Pound.

    He stated that the commission had made a lot of recoveries locally using the mechanism of the non-conviction based forfeiture provided under Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006.

    “Within this year alone, the commission recovered stolen assets running into several millions of US Dollars and billions in naira.

    “These include the sum of $43 million recovered from Deziani Allison-Madueke, Nigeria’s former Minister of Petroleum and N2 billion spread in seven accounts within three Nigerian banks laundered from the Federal Capital Territory Police Command Salary Accounts”, he explained.

    Magu, who was said to be a panelist at the Implementation Review Group attended by over 100 delegates, detailed the Nigerian efforts in asset recovery.

    He said the country had also made progress in specific cases related to Abacha loot, Malabu Oil, Diezani and associates, and the arms procurement scandal.

    These efforts, he said, cut across Switzerland, USA, UK, UAE, Jersey Island and Panama.
    In his recommendations, the EFCC boss sought improved coordination and cooperation among state parties in asset recovery.

    He said this could be done through the consideration and adoption of measures that would remove traditional barriers such as bank secrecy in line with Article 46(8) and dual Criminality Article 46(9) as well as simplify legal technicalities in the recovery and repatriation of stolen funds.

    He further sought measures to reduce cost of recovery of assets for developing countries and ensure speedy return of all stolen assets to victim states in line with the current resolution sponsored by Nigeria.

    He also called for sanction and prosecution of any financial institution that violates AML/CFT measures and the maintenance of a public register on beneficial ownership.

    Meanwhile, Nigeria has received global commendation for its doggedness in tracing and recovery of its solen assets, according to the commission’s spokesman.

    Uwujaren said the commendation came at a meeting between Magu and Dr Nassar Abaalkhail, the Head of International Collaboration, National Anti-Corruption Commission, Saudi Arabia.

    The meeting, which held on the sidelines of the conference, followed Magu’s presentation, Uwujaren said.

    He quoted Abaalkhail as saying that Nigeria’s efforts at loot recovery were remarkable.

    “From what I have heard, Nigeria’s effort at asset tracing is remarkable. Nigeria is indeed a role model for countries, including developed countries.

    “We have so much to learn from Nigeria”, he said.

    Uwujaren said the Iranian National Focal Point for the United Nations Convention Against Corruption, Dr Mohsen Mardal, also commended the Nigerian presentation.

    Similarly, the Commissioner, Sierra Leone Anti-Corruption Agency, Ady Macauley, said the EFCC was not only “formidable, but a pride to the African States”.

    “My men were in Nigeria a fortnight ago to understudy your operations, I must confess, we have a lot to learn in investigation, prosecution and asset recovery”.

    NAN